Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1961)

WHEN’S THE WEDDING? Continued from page 58 negotiations for a divorce. She hired attorneys to work out a property settlement. The action caught Hollywood somewhat by surprise, because not too long before, Hope had told the press: “I’m in no hurry to divorce Don, but I'll not stop him if he wants one.” It seemed something had happened to change her mind. And what about Glenn? Has lie made up his mind, too? Is he afraid of another marriage? These are the questions everyone’s asking. When he’s questioned, Glenn runs hot. lukewarm and cold on the subject of Hope Lange. One time he'll confide to friends that Hope could very well be the next Mrs. Glenn Ford. On other occasions, he’ll only confirm that he likes her very much. And then again, he’ll act insulted if he’s even asked about Hope. The first Mrs. Glenn Ford, Eleanor Powell, lived with the actor several years shy of two decades. Although he won’t admit it, the marriage failure after all those years must have been a great shock. Enough to make any man leery of marrying again and give him many a sleepless night. However, one version of the breakup goes that Glenn and Eleanor would have split years ago if not for their son Peter, now sixteen. Glenn and Peter are close, very close. He’s always managed to devote weekends to the boy. taking him for a sail or hike, and even became a Boy Scout troop leader because Peter was a member. Even today Glenn finds time for Pete. He has visitation rights under the divorce settlement and takes full advantage of them. But the divorce became final only last November, and to some the feeling is that he’s in no hurry to rush into another marriage. Time for a decision Yet the time is close for another decision— one inspired by love. Perhaps he has already made it. There are indications that he has. For one thing, he’s rushing plans to build a new home in Beverly Hills, having lived with his mother since the split with Ellie. And Hope has become a close part of his future picture plans. Their first together. “Pocketful of Miracles,” already is under way, and they are due to make several more. Can a marriage between Hope and Glenn work? The same thing was asked about Debbie and Harry. The difference in age is practically the same for the two couples. Glenn is in his forties, Hope in her twenties. Hope’s children are about the same age as Debbie’s. Both women have found stability in an older, wiser man who seemed to possess something their youthful husbands lacked. It certainly has worked thus far with Debbie. She has never seemed happier. What are the chances that Glenn and Hope would go back to their first loves? One columnist printed that this could happen to Glenn. He speculated that Glenn and Ellie were very close, and he’d paid her a visit when she was in a hospital for surgery last December. But friends said no. he merely drove their son to the hospital out of respect to Ellie. He has confided to a few that neither he nor Ellie have even faintly considered reconciling. And what about Hope? The spark Don Murray once held for Dolores Michaels is dying. Maybe Don would come back if she would have him. Does she want him back? The answer is clearly evident in Hope’s surprise action for a divorce — not next year, but now. Glenn Ford is free, Hope soon will be. She has apparently made up her mind. How about Glenn? Only he can answer this question, and some of his friends think he already has — and that the answer is yes. —Tout) Rowland Hope and Glenn will soon he seen co-starring in “Pocketful of Miracles” for U-A. and Glenn will also be seen in “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” for M-G-M. A MARRIED MAN Continued from page 33 Don moved in with his good friend, Walter Wood. p 82 And it was just at this point that Dolores and Don met. They had seen each other at the studio commissary, but they’d never spoken. Now they were to co-star in a movie, "One Foot in Hell.” “A prophetic title. Dolores says today. But at the time, she had no idea of what was ahead. Something happened between these two different people from the very first instant. “I found I was reacting to Don as a man rather than an actor,” says Dolores, “and was embarrassed and self-conscious about it. That wasn’t like me, and I wondered what was wrong with me.” There was the incident of the horse. Dolores had never ridden before so Don swept her up in the saddle with him. “So you can get used to what it feels like to be on horseback,” he said. She found the horn of the saddle was pressing painfully against her, but, for some reason, she made no protest. Instead, she said, “Oh, I’m very comfortable.” She found herself forgetting everything but Don’s strong arms around her. And Don. too, seemed under some strange spell. He knew how to ride, and yet he didn’t realize that anything was wrong until the assistant director finally yelled, “The saddle’s coming off, get down.” Don and Dolores didn’t say anything. They just looked at each other. Time passed. Then, suddenly, everything was out in the open. “I’ve separated from Hope.” Don told her one evening after work. They were driving together along the Malibu coast. Dolores made no comment but she knew then that she loved him. And as two people often do, they became closer through their days of working together. “Don is a man of softness that is not to be confused with weakness,” she says. “I discovered his strength as our relationship grew, and I came to respect it.” They began to have dinner together, go to the beach together and take long drives along the countryside. But all was not well. “I created all the problems,” Dolores says. “I never once asked about Hope, but my underlying anxiety began to creep through. I was beset with doubts. And there was the pressure from the outside. My mother, a good Catholic, was anxious for me. Sometimes I could feel her douhts about me. Had I broken up this man’s home? Of course. I hadn’t, but the small guilts began to build — to be a weight.” Her own divorce from Maurice Martine had just become final, and Dolores had the feeling her very religious family from the Midwest were more than disapproving. Tension mounted. And Don. though separated. was still a married man. “And so,” says Dolores in all honesty. “I began to press, to push, to doubt, to plague. And all this time Don never once discussed his personal problems.” Perhaps if he had been able to talk over his plans for the future with Dolores, she may have been less anxious, less insecure. But. of course, Don was a married man, and he never once discussed the possibility of marriage with Dolores. "Don.” says Dolores, “is a man of strength and honor.” But she, unfortunately, was a woman in love who needed him. “I became depressed when I was not with him. Even one day away from him became a blue day. And looming in the distance was his long location jaunt to St. Louis for the movie ‘The Hoodlum Priest.’ ” The approaching date threw a cloud over everything. Not for Don. perhaps, but for Dolores. She had no ties with Don. no promises, no talks of a future together. And she panicked. “Do you love me?” One evening he came to have dinner with her. “I have to make this a short evening.” he said. “I have to he up early for details on the ‘Hoodlum’ story.” Trying to hold on just a few hours longer, with the coming weeks of separation between them. Dolores began to push. “Do you love me?” It was almost a demand. “Do you love me? Don’t lie to me.” Don tried to calm her. but there was nothing he could say. After all. he was still married to Hope. How could he promise anything to Dolores? But Dolores persisted. “If you love me, why aren't I going to St. Louis with you? Why are you leaving me?” Then, when she could see that she wasn't going to sway him that way, she tried another method. She tried to punish him. “Well, as long as you’re going to be busy, let’s just skip dinner tomorrow night.” she said coldly. “The following night?” Don asked. “No. no. I don’t want to see you at all.” “Well. I’ll try to see you before I leave,” Don said quietly. But he walked out. She had him on the phone an hour later. "I see I’m dealing with a man and not a boy.” she said. “Look,” Don told her. “you have an image of what you think love is, and you're trying to fit me into that. Well. I won't fit into any preconceived notions you have. I'm me.” This man of great strength spoke